Electric vehicles have been developed that use electric energy as their operation sources in order to solve the problem of the increase in expense of fossil fuel and to conserve resources and promote recycling. Such electric vehicles wholly or partially adopt electrical power for operation.
An electric vehicle includes an electric storage mechanism, such as a battery. The electric storage mechanism needs to be electrically charged for continuous operation.
A charging station serves as a charging point for electric vehicles. The charging station may be located in a designated charging point similar to a gas station. Or, the charging station may be considered to be positioned in a public or private parking lot.
Korean Patent No. 10-1014539 titled “charging device and method for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle” discloses a method of permitting charging an electric vehicle and performing billing for charging.
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2009-0125560 titled “intelligent electricity charging control cabinet and system for charging an electric vehicle” discloses a charging control cabinet that can independently perform a billing process.
Conventionally a charging station provided at a predetermined location may perform all of the processes including authentication, charging, and billing. However, such a charging station calls for a new authentication system and billing system for electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles exhibit a relatively short travelling distance compared to existing vehicles even when fully charged. Although charging stations may be installed at a shorter interval than an interval at which existing gas stations are installed, this is inefficient in light of expense and use of lands.